Contents

Right now, terrorists are plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate. My wife and daughter have been kidnapped, and people that I work with may be involved in both. I’m federal agent Jack Bauer. This is the longest day of my life.

Jack tells Nina Myers that before he can help Teri he needs to get through the police. Nina tells him that Alberta Green is being brought in to run things. Green arrives, and the two share a frosty welcome.

Jack Bauer speak to Teri and Kim. Kim asks who is behind everything, and Jack says he will find out but wants to make sure they get home safely. Tony then tells Jack that he found the name Ted Cofell on Jamey's computer. Cofell gets into his limousine, with Jack driving it.

Jack is driving Ted Cofell in his limousine when Cofell receives a call. A man named Kevin tells him to go to a parking garage at the corner of Nordhoff and Willingham. When his driver doesn't respond, Ted notices that he isn't Mark. Jack locks the doors and Cofell attempts to make a cell phone call. Jack pulls over, lowers the limo divider, points the gun at him and takes the cellphone. He gets in the back seat and introduces himself after slapping Cofell when he mistakes him for a common criminal.

Cofell denies any involvement with Gaines and claims to just be a businessman. Jack scoffs that he is a businessman riding around in a bullet-proof limousine. Jack asks what he needs such protection from, and Cofell answers, "People like you!" Jack threatens to murder Cofell then and there if he doesn't tell him where his wife and daughter are. With Jack's gun to his head, Cofell still insists he doesn't know anything. Jack draws the weapon away, telling Cofell that he is a very good liar, but that Jack has seen better. Jack exits the car, climbs back in the driver's seat, and checks Cofell's briefcase, finding only papers and medication. He phones Nina.

Nina receives Jack's call and secures the line. Jack tells her he has Cofell hostage and Nina criticizes him as going out further and further on a limb every time she talks to him. He asks her to put together an interrogation profile in 5 minutes.

Kim Bauer and Teri Bauer sit in the compound, still hostages. Rick Allen comes in and apologizes for the phone incident. Teri thanks him but he asks for no information and leaves. Kim watches him outside as Eli Stram beats him. She protests inside and hugs Teri, who looks fearfully at the windows.

Nina is gathering information on Cofell when Alberta shows up. She hurriedly minimized her screen as Alberta questions the anomaly in first class of Flight 221. Nina explains it probably belonged to Martin Belkin. She explains that a look-alike must have taken Belkin's place at the plant ceremony but that the impostor had gained access with a genuine ID. They have no answer as yet to how the impostor managed to get ahold of it. Jack suddenly calls and Nina stalls because Alberta is there. Hiding the fact that she was speaking to Jack, Nina tells Alberta that Bill Warner from the Bureau was calling. Alberta asks to speak with him, but Tony distracts her with information about a connection to the Balkans. Nina Myers gives information on Ted Cofell, including that he got into college at age 16 and is the oldest of three, and, extrapolating personality traits, sketches out an interrogation method with Jack: "so basically make him sweat it out for a little while, assume control, and then behave erratically." Going off a hunch, Nina notes that with people as tightly wound as Cofell appears, the threat of pain can be more effective than pain itself.

Jack puts on a tough persona for Cofell

Jack exits the limo and assumes a menacing persona. He rolls up his sleeves and removes his jacket as Cofell looks on in rising fear.

Jack enters the limo and removes his glasses. He asks Cofell about Greg Penticoff, Alan York and David Palmer. Cofell insists he knows nothing. Jack tells him the plot on Palmer has failed, and that Cofell has been implicated but Cofell still claims not to know anything. Jack notices his hands are sweating and points it out. Cofell says he is scared. Jack asks him about the man at the parking garage, and Cofell gives the name Kevin Carroll, claiming that he is also a businessman, operating a machine tools company. Jack phones Nina and tells her to look Carroll up.

Jack is silent for a second then lurches forward towards Cofell. He takes a cloth from the water tub and puts it on the floor, then pours water on it. As Cofell looks on, Jack casually tells him about the RussianGulag in Siberia. The torturers there had to make do with limited equipment. Jack explains that he can push the towel down Cofell's throat and then rip it out after his stomach starts digesting it, taking the stomach lining with it and resulting in a long, torturous death. Terrified, Cofell shows Jack a picture of his own wife and two children, and says that if he knew something about Jack's family, he would tell him.

10:20:58

Andre Drazen gives Ira Gaines an ultimatum

Andre Drazen's car pulls up to the compound and is greeted by Ira Gaines. Drazen expresses his disappointment at the lack of any development since he last spoke to Gaines and tells him, bluntly, that he has failed. Incredulous that he would just give up after emphasizing the importance of getting Bauer and Palmer for over a year, Andre assures him that he isn't abandoning the assassination plot at all. He has a contingency plan and it doesn't involve Gaines. Gaines asks Andre to give him until noon. Drazen allows Gaines thirty minutes more to find Bauer. As Rick stands in earshot, he tells Gaines his last task before pulling out will be to kill Bauer's wife and daughter. As Gaines storms off, Andre calls a contact and they converse in Serbian.

David Palmer and Sherry Palmer are still at Grant Elementary School in the Valley, talking to the principal. Mike Novick calls David over with a return call from Carl Webb, who is phoning from his building. David tells Carl that he received a very disturbing call a short while ago, informing him that George Ferragamo's life might be in danger. Deducing the source, Carl tells David to pay no attention to Frank Ames, calling him an "old lady". David threatens Carl with the information he knows about his past if he doesn't come to meet with him in person. Carl, realising David is serious, says he'll be there by eleven.

Jack makes another call to Nina for information on Kevin Carroll. She says there are six, and that one does in fact work for a machine tools company. Nina suggests they might have made a mistake, that the lack of any other live links to Teri and Kim may be affecting Jack's judgment. Jack processes this but insists that there's something going on with Cofell. He gets back in the limo and drives to make the meeting with Carroll, Cofell still hostage in the back.

In the storage room where Kim and Teri are being held, Teri experiences abdominal pains. Kim is about to go get someone but Teri protests. Teri tells Kim that they have to be strong and wait for Jack. They embrace.

Jack continues to head towards the parking garage. He lets his eyes off of Cofell, who removes a Microtech Halo blade from a compartment in his seatrest. He hides the knife by his legs as Jack drives on.

David kisses Sherry before leaving

Back at the school, David signs a basketball for a school worker while Sherry is testing the food. She says it is better than what she and David used to eat, prompting the principal to ask if they were in the same elementary school. Sherry tells the principal that she and David have known one another all of their lives. "And still as much in love as ever," the principal comments, admiringly. Sherry makes her excuses and she and David break off for a private chat. In the kitchen, they discuss her call to Carl and she tells David that she asked him to stop Maureen Kingsley. She explains that Carl told her in response that he would take care of the evidence against Keith. Because she wasn't sure what he meant, she didn't tell David. Maintaining their image of marital intimacy, David touches her hair. He remarks that he is trying to believe that Sherry lying to him seven years ago was a one time thing; but this is not making it any easier. "That is so unfair", Sherry replies. David kisses her and leaves with Mike.

Jack and Cofell arrive at the parking lot. Jack enters the back of the limo and, as he pulls shut the door, Cofell attacks him with the concealed knife. Jack deflects the blow, just barely. He breaks Cofell's wrist and stows away the knife. "An average businessman with a Microtech Halo in his car," Jack growls. Totally transformed, Cofell snarls at him in Serbian, much to Jack's anger and astonishment. He kicks and then grabs Cofell by the throat, asking if he is from Belgrade. With a thick Serbian accent, Ted tells him that he deserves everything that is happening to him and that there is only one thing Jack needs to know: he will pay. Jack punches him in the heart, causing Cofell's chest to seize up. Jack shows him his heart medicine and tries to coerce Cofell into telling him where his family is. Cofell refuses to talk. Jack then relents and tries to give Cofell his medicine but Cofell refuses to take it, actively seeking to die ahead of risking any information tortured out of him. Desperate, Jack tries to force-feed a pill to him before Cofell dies of his heart condition. Cofell spits it out and dies. Jack frantically tries to apply CPR but it is too late. He breaks down in tears.

Nina comforts Jack over the phone. Jack tells her that something is deeply wrong with the situation, that they are not just going after Palmer but are out for a personal reckoning with Jack himself. He looks at the dead Cofell, then tells Nina to check his background, especially for extended family relations tracing back to Serbia. He also tells her to get into his classified assignment files and crosscheck them with Cofell's background. Jack instructs her to look especially at the ones from Operation Nightfall, a mission of his from two years prior which took him to Belgrade then Kosovo. Jack hangs up then hears tires squealing in the distance. He sets Cofell up to look as if he was alive.

Tony comes over to Nina and hands her some papers, telling her to act as if they are the topic of discussion. He then proposes, given Alberta Green already knows they are working for Jack (and is watching them like a hawk from Jack's office), that they should just come clean to her. Nina shuts this down, insisting it's Jack's family at stake and therefore Jack's decision. Tony retorts that she needs to think of herself too and insists that Green is too officious to be another mole like Jamey. Nina agrees with that assessment, but says that even if Alberta isn't likely to be another mole herself, she works by the book. She will call in Division, more people would become involved, and there would be the live possibility of another Jamey corrupting the investigation. Almeida isn't pleased but accepts this and walks off.

Rick hands a gun to Kim

10:44:16

Back at Ira Gaines' compound, Kim is dozing off on the hay when Teri tries to wake her. She is too exhausted and won't cooperate. At that moment, Rick, visibly beaten up, comes in and hands them a gun. Restored to wakefulness, Kim hesitates to take it, but Teri finally does. Rick says this is all he can do for them, apologizes again for having gotten them into this, and leaves. Teri tells Kim that Gaines' people are coming and that they will kill them this time. Kim, losing her cool finally, starts shaking her head in disbelief and moaning. Teri goes to her and shapes her up and tells her not to give up.

In the parking garage, a car screeches down towards Cofell's limousine. Jack watches as a man gets out. It is revealed to be Kevin Carroll, the man Jack and Teri believed to be Alan York. Carroll enters the limo and closes the door. Jack puts on the locks. Kevin is stunned to see Jack in the driver's seat and then realises that Cofell is dead. He takes out his gun and shoots at Jack, but since the divider glass is bullet-proof, Jack doesn't even flinch. Just as Carroll loads another clip, Jack starts the limousine and starts swerving around the parking lot, dizzying Carroll and throwing him about the limousine, until he finally hit the brakes and Carroll flies forward into the divider glass, knocking him unconscious.

Jack has just finishing tying Kevin up in the back of Kevin's car when Kevin regains consciousness. Jack gets in the car with him and asks again about his family. Kevin refuses to answer and Jack strikes him in the gut. Kevin tells Jack that he can't kill him as he is the only way Jack has left to find his wife and daughter. "Who said anything about killing?" Jack responds. Kevin tells him that he is pretty good at withstanding pain and that time is of the essence in getting to Teri and Kim now that Jack's use has run out for them. He proposes an agreement: he will tell Jack where they are if Jack releases him. Jack tells him he will agree to let him free but only when he is sure that his family is safe. He pledges his word, which Carroll hardly trusts. But with no other option outside of being tortured, Kevin acquiesces.

At Gaines' compound, Andre tells him that his half hour is up. He orders Gaines to kill Teri and Kim since the contingency plan doesn't involve them. Ira calls in Eli Stram and sends him to make the final preparations with the drivers and to "kill the women."

David Palmer meets with Carl Webb

David is talking to the elementary school principal again. He refers Mike to a question as he sees Carl waiting. They talk about Ferragamo. Carl denies having any plans to murder the therapist, but tells David that power has its price, and that price has to be paid, always. David tells him that he won't permit anyone to be hurt in the name of his candidacy. "You don't permit or not permit anything," Carl retorts. "Don't you understand that by now?" He reminds David about the powerful people behind everything they're doing, who are not about to let everything they've put their resources into be undone now. Carl tells David they will "find someone to do what they need done". He finishes by saying that they have -- both -- always worked "for them". David replies, "You maybe. Not me," and leaves Carl. As he walks away, he makes a phone call and asks for Ferragamo's phone number.

As Teri and Kim are waiting, Eli comes inside to kill them. Teri hides the gun. Eli seems uneasy with the task, telling them that he will make it fast. As he approaches them, she takes it out and points it at his face. She pulls the trigger but it doesn't fire. He pulls at her and they start to struggle. When he takes out his own gun, Kim grabs him and they fall on the ground. He drops his gun and Teri picks it up as he wrestles with Kim. Eli draws a switchblade to kill Kim but Teri shoots him in the back. He rolls over dead. Teri shoots him a second time to make it appear as he had killed Kim and herself. "What do we do now?" Kim asks. "We hide the body," Teri answers.

Kevin directs Jack to the hideout

Split screen: Teri and Kim hide Eli's body. Gaines and Drazen wait for confirmation from Eli. David Palmer is on the phone, contacting Ferragamo.

Kevin tells Jack to turn left and Jack asks where they are headed. Kevin refuses to tell him the destination, saying simply that he is taking him to his family.

When Jack is driving Kevin Carroll around the parking garage in the back of Ted Cofell's limo he can be seen driving pass Kevin's parked car. A few seconds later they show a wide shot of the parking garage with the limo driving down the center aisle and Kevin's car is no longer there.